べた

na-adjective, noun

all over; filled in; solid; gapless

Describes a surface or area completely covered, filled, or solid, often used adverbially as べたに. Common in contexts like painting, printing, or spreading something without gaps.

• 壁かべ一いち面めんにべたにポスターを貼はった。

  I plastered posters all over the wall.

• べた塗ぬりで背はい景けいを塗ぬりつぶす。

  Fill in the background with a solid coat of paint.

noun, used as a prefix

complete; total

Used as a prefix before nouns to mean 'complete' or 'total', often in casual or emphatic expressions.

• べた褒ほめされて照てれた。

  I was embarrassed by the total praise.

• べた負まけで悔くやしい。

  It's frustrating to lose completely.

na-adjective

clichéd; hackneyed; corny; predictable

Colloquial use for something trite, overly familiar, or lacking originality, like a predictable joke or story.

• そのオチはべたすぎて笑わらえなかった。

  That punchline was too clichéd to be funny.

• べたな展てん開かいだけど、つい見みてしまう。

  It's a predictable plot, but I end up watching it anyway.

noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

plaintext

Computing term for unformatted text, as opposed to rich text or HTML.

• メールはべたテキストで送おくってください。

  Please send the email in plain text.

noun

solid printing; solid typesetting

Abbreviation of ベタ組み; printing term for setting type without spacing or indentation.

See also: ベタ組み

• このページはべたで組くまれている。

  This page is set solid.

noun

contact print

Abbreviation of ベタ焼き; photography term for a print made by placing the negative directly on the paper.

See also: ベタ焼き

• まずべたを焼やいてから、引ひき伸のばしを選えらぶ。

  First make a contact print, then choose which ones to enlarge.